Story Headlines- The Northwest Missouri State softball team opened the 2016 season with a pair of victories Friday at the Arkansas-Monticello 8-State Classic in Bentonville, Ark. Both games were played at Memorial Park
- The tournament, one of the biggest of its kind in Division II, is made up of 31 teams from four conferences and 92 scheduled games over a three day span.
- Northwest started the day with a 10-3 victory over Rockhurst, scoring seven runs in the final inning.
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Chantel Adams' two-run double in the sixth handed the Bearcats a 4-2 victory over Southern Nazarene in the nightcap.
- The Hawks fell to 2-4 overall while the loss gives the Crimson Storm a 3-3 record this season.
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Game One Key Northwest Statistics (Northwest beats Rockhurst, 10-3)- All nine starters reached base at least once.
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Kendle Schieber tossed a complete game, striking out eight while surrendering six hits. Schieber recorded three 1-2-3 innings. The senior contributed to the cause on offense, scoring one run.
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Alexis Kelsey crossed the plate twice in her Northwest debut, finishing 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI. The freshman reached base in three of her four plate appearances.
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Rebecca Maher deposited the first Northwest home run of the season over the fence in left center, finishing 2-for-4 with three runs and two RBI.
- Freshman
Kiana Baderdeen drove in three runs in her collegiate debut.
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Game One Key Northwest Innings- After falling behind by one run in the first, the Bearcats captured a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning without recording a hit. Maher reached on an error before Kelsey drew a walk. Two batters later,
Jessica Rawie plated Maher and advanced to second when her sacrifice fly to right field was dropped. After another walk, Baderdeen added an RBI when her ground ball was misplayed by the shortstop.
- Schieber struck out the side in the second.
- Maher made the score 3-2 in the top of the fifth when she sent a line drive home run to left center.
- Northwest broke things open in the seventh when it sent 11 batters to the plate, scoring seven runs on six hits.
Jaedra Moses pinch ran for
Abigail Gilson after she led off with a sharp single to short. Schieber laid down a bunt that was misplayed by the pitcher before
Torri Blythe loaded the bases with a base knock up the middle. Maher drove in Moses with a single to the first baseman, followed by a two-run double to center off the bat of Kelsey.
Chantel Adams and Rawie each reached base before Baderdeen drove in a pair with a line drive double over the center fielder's head.
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Game Two Key Northwest Statistics (Northwest beats Southern Nazarene, 4-2)-
Rachel Smith picked up the victory in her first start at Northwest, giving up two runs on five hits over five innings. The freshman tallied two strikeouts, one looking and one swinging.
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Kendle Schieber recorded her first save as a Bearcat after pitching two scoreless innings to seal the victory. The senior struck out two Crimson Storm batters.
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Chantel Adams drove in two runs, finishing 1-for-3 at the plate.
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Alexis Kelsey drilled her first career home run while reaching base in two of her three plate appearances, scoring both times.
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Rebecca Maher scored a run after drawing a walk.
Game Two Key Northwest Innings- Kelsey tied the game at one when she sent a 2-1 pitch soaring over the left field fence.
- Rawie led off the fifth by drawing a walk before moving to second on
Kiana Baderdeen's sacrifice bunt. The sophomore came around to score when the left fielder misplayed a fly ball off the bat of
Abigail Gilson, giving Northwest a 2-1 lead.
- After SNU tied the game in the bottom of the fifth, the Bearcats grabbed the lead for good in the sixth when Maher and Kelsey drew back-to-back walks. Both tapped the plate when Adams crushed an 0-1 pitch to right center.
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Up Next- The Bearcats will continue play in Bentonville Saturday with a pair of afternoon contests. Northwest is scheduled to face off with Upper Iowa at 2 p.m. followed by a 4 p.m. contest against Missouri S&T.
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